Watch: Antilatency’s 10-Person, Full-Body Tracking System

A new video from Antilatency shows a system that uses full-body tracking in VR on 10 users simultaneously, allowing them to interact with virtual representations of each other. The system positionally tracks each person’s feet, head and hands.

The system uses Antilatency’s ‘Bracer’ and ‘Tag’ tracking devices, which are small radio sockets that can be added onto existing HMDs to provide additional tracking capability. At CES 2019, these devices were used to turn the Oculus Go, a 3DoF headset, into a 6DoF headset with increased tracking capabilities and multi-user support.

In January, Antilatency expanded support for these custom tracking peripherals to include the Oculus Quest, providing new tracking options for location-based VR experiences using the mobile headset.

In this new video, Antilatency uses two Bracers on user’s hands and two Tags on user’s feet to provide a total of five tracking points, when including positional data of the headset.

The video shows an experience where 10 users are all interacting at once, with five points of tracking each, allowing for a deeper sense of immersion and realism for the user’s VR avatars. Antilatency says the session used Pico G2 headsets, with the trackers using a proprietary low-latency radio protocol. To avoid confusion and interference, each user has their own radio channel in the 2.4Ghz range to communicate between the tracking peripherals and the headset.

After receiving and processing the user’s tracking data locally, each headset then shares this information with all of the other headsets across a 5Ghz WiFi network to sync up each user. A PC was added into the system to create the demonstration video and visualise the whole experience, but otherwise would not be needed.

You can read more about Antilatency’s tracking peripherals here. 

The post Watch: Antilatency’s 10-Person, Full-Body Tracking System appeared first on UploadVR.

The Pico G2 4K Headset now Available in North America and Europe

If there’s one thing the virtual reality (VR) industry and its fans aren’t short of it’s new headsets. HP Reverb arrived yesterday while Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest hit the shelves later this month. And let’s not forget Valve Index of course. Today, Chinese headset manufacturer Pico has released its new device, the Pico G2 4K, for North American and European enterprise use.

Pico G2 4k

Solely designed for business use, the new Pico G2 4K features an LDC display boasting a 3840 x 2160 resolution, with a refresh rate of 75Hz and a PPI of 818, all powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. Weighing in at 278g, the headset has 32GB of storage (upgradable with MicroSD cards up to 256GB), 3 degree’s of freedom (3DoF) tracking, plus compatibility with the Pico Store and Viveport for content.

VRFocus went hands-on with the Pico G2 4K during CES 2019 in January, finding that the small amount of content being demoed ‘did look stunning on the new 4K screens’.

In addition to the launch announcement, Pico has also begun a new partnership with Headjack which develops apps and business solutions for the VR market. “As we introduce our new G2 4K headset into North America and Europe, we also continue to align ourselves with leading business services within the VR and AR industry. With Headjack, we felt that both our current and future business partners could easily create and control white-label VR apps through their intuitive tools,” said Leland Hedges, Commercial Director, Pico Interactive, EMEA in a statement.

Pico G2 4k

“Upon hearing about Pico’s VR headsets from our clients and their desire to build out content in an enclosed, branded environment, we did some research into Pico Interactive and saw a perfect fit between our tools and the Pico hardware. We were particularly interested in their native Kiosk Mode found in every headset and were wowed by their latest G2 4K VR headset,” adds Coen Kraaijvanger, Commercial Director at Headjack.

For businesses interested in the Pico G2 4K head on over to the website to make an enquiry. VRFocus will continue its coverage of the latest Pico headsets, reporting back with any new updates.

Hands-on With Pico G2 4K: Looking Prettier Than Ever

The consumer virtual reality (VR) space is going to have changed a great deal by the end of 2019, mainly due to the addition of standalone head-mounted displays (HMD). Oculus Quest is gathering the most interest it seems, with HTC Vive Focus still due a western release – and Vive Cosmos can sort of be included – plus there’s Chinese standalone specialist Pico with its newest device, the G2 4K, which the company had on show during CES 2019.

If you’ve not heard of Pico before, the company has always made standalone HMDs, such as the Pico Neo and Pico Goblin. It was during 2018 the Pico launched the G2 range, a device which uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 XR platform, dual LDC screens and a 101° field-of-view. However, the market is asking for more, with the likes of HTC Vive Pro and Pimax going down the route of improving resolution, reducing the screendoor effect that plagues some headsets. With TV manufacturers pushing the 4K standard across their ranges for a number of years now, Pico has followed suit with the new headset, designed more towards enterprise than consumer markets.

When it comes to first impressions, the Pico G2 4K isn’t really that dissimilar to the rest of the company’s headset range, with a fairly generic design to the facial unit and quick release fabric straps either side and on top. What is noticeable before putting the headset on is the lump of plastic that goes at the back of your head. This is the battery, placed there to help evenly distribute weight better. And does it? It certainly seemed so, with less weight on the front there didn’t seem to be as much pressure on the bridge of my nose, perfect for longer VR sessions, whether that’s watching a movie or engaging in a conference call.

As for the main event, what was shown did look stunning on the new 4K screens. As you’d hope to expect the clarity was pin sharp, with no discernible screendoor effect. The demo was limited to viewing very high quality close up images of bugs, being able to pick out individual hairs and spikes on their spindly legs. Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, the level of clarity and richness of colour almost made it look as if you were staring at museum exhibits.

PicoDefinitely ticking the boxes when it came to displaying the punchy wow factor of the 4K screens, it would have been nice to have seen a little more. A 360-degree video, for example, to look at how the screens handle movement and possibly content from a lower resolution source. Even so, I think this is the right direction for Pico to head in, headsets do need greater resolution and to do away with screendoor once and for all.

Even though this is Pico’s top end headset, when it comes to standalone rivals, it’s more of an Oculus Go upgrade than a direct rival to Oculus Quest or Vive Focus. This is primarily due to the inside-out tracking the two headsets boast, giving rise to greater freedom in VR thanks to roomscale and 6DoF controllers. As such Pico G2 4K is far more suited to institutions which are looking to showcase immersive content, and want a headset with as higher resolution as possible in a convenient form factor, which the Pico G2 4K does very nicely.

Pico Unveils its Latest Standalone Headset the G2 4K

It’s the best time of year for tech fans with CES 2019 just around the corner, companies across the globe are revealing their very latest products. Chinese virtual reality (VR) headset manufacturer Pico has done just that by unveiling the Pico G2 4K, an uprated standalone head-mounted display (HMD) based on the Pico G2.

Pico G2

The Pico G2 range is part of the company’s initiative to enter the enterprise market rather than solely focus on the consumer industry, hoping to increase its share by improving the visual quality to 4K.

Other additions that showcase the Pico G2 4K’s enterprise functionality and customizable features include:

  • Kiosk Mode – Dedicate the Pico G2 4K headset to a single application for simple and focused use cases
  • Handsfree Controls – No controller, no problem. The Pico G2 4K has a handsfree control option that enables easy “look and choose” selection
  • Hygienic Design – Each Pico G2 4K has access to replaceable PU face inserts that are easy to clean and hygienic for mass use

“VR and AR continue to grow on the consumer-level, but we feel there’s far more untapped potential in using these cutting-edge technologies to elevate businesses behind-the-scenes. The use cases for VR and AR are limitless and we aim to help businesses realize this with our products including the Pico G2 and Pico G2 4K headsets,” said Henry Zhou, CEO of Pico Interactive, Inc. in a statement. “We are carving out our own identity as a leading enterprise VR and AR hardware manufacturer while expanding the overall market by providing tailored products and options few of our competitors provide at this point.”

Pico G2

Companies using Pico’s VR and AR hardware in enterprise settings including VRtuoso, OperaVR, Limbix, In-Flight VR, Vivid Vision, NuEyes, and VRCoaster. Another is FlixBus, a bus service that began in Europe which recently expanded to the US and now offers VR experiences by way of Pico headsets on certain long distance routes.

Pico G2 4K Product Specs:

  • Display – 4K Resolution (3840×2160)
  • Components – 835 Snapdragon Processor, 32GB Storage, 4GB RAM
  • Connection – BT4.2 WiFib/g/n/ac(supports Miracast)
  • Design – 278g, Unique Battery Placement
  • Developer – Android 8.1, Pico SKUnreal/Unity), Wave SD
  • Content – Pico Store, Viveport M

The Pico G2 4K will be available in North America in the first half of 2019. Details regarding other territories aren’t currently available. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

New Pico G2 Supports Vive Wave and Viveport

Standalone headsets have been attracting a great deal of attention recently, since the announcement of the Oculus Go. These devices bridge the cap between mobile virtual reality (VR) and high-end devices such as the HTC Vive. One of the most recent standalone devices to be launched is the Pico G2, which is now available in China, complete with support for Vive Wave and Viveport.

Pico is a hardware partner of HTC Vive, and as HTC Vive have stated on their blog, the Pico G2 support of Vive Wave is set to show how HTC intends to support standalone VR headsets across the world for the benefit of hardware partners, content developers and consumer.

Vive Wave is an open platform toolset which has been designed with standalone VR devices in mind. The platform allows for easy development of VR mobile content, high performance device optimisation and a unified Viveport storefront that works across various devices.

For hardware partners such as Pico, the Vive Wave SDK and platform offers an open interface for easy creation and porting of content, which enables Pico to focus on device innovation without worrying about providing an extensive content library.

The Pico G2 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 XR platform, with 4+32GB of memory and up to 256GB of micro-SD card expandable storage. The Pico G2 is also equipped with two fast-response LCD screens, a 90Hz refresh rate and a 101° field-of-view.

Pico also recently announced the completion of a $24.7 million (USD) Round A funding, led by GF Quanhe and GF Xinde Investment, and completed jointly by Jufeng S&T Venture Investment, among others.

Pico CEO Henry Zhou said that “Pico will keep focusing on all-in-one VR and will also increase its investment in 3D sensing (TOF) and AR technologies in the near future. In the future, Pico hopes to become a portal-level AI vision company through the layout of VR+AR+TOF technology and products.”

For future coverage of HTC Vive and Pico, along with other VR companies, keep checking back with VRFocus.